Healthy Pop Tarts from Chocolate-Covered Katie

It’s been a while since I last posted a recipe. My life has been quite busy! My beautiful ads are currently displayed in MBTA commuter trains and at 20 Boston area stations, my PSA is about to air in the Sundance Channel, and Mother keeps traveling all over Massachusetts to take pictures of me posing next to my pawsome ads. Today, I finally have the time to sit down and go over my collection of delicious vegan recipes. I think you’re all going to enjoy this healthy, PINK version of the classic Pop-Tarts! I love sweet and fruity flavors, especially during the spring!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup plus 3 tbsp spelt flour (Or all-purpose flour, or a mix of the two. Whole-wheat pastry flour will work; it’ll just be less soft, and you’ll need to add a tiny bit more oil. For notes on gluten-free options, see nutrition link below.) (100g)
*tiny* bit over 1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 tbsp agave or pure maple syrup (or honey, but not for strict vegans) (21g)
3/4 of a packet nunaturals stevia, or omit and add one extra tbsp of the above liquid sweetener
3/4 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 tbsp vegetable or coconut oil (21g)
1 tbsp more oil, or milk of choice (omit if using the extra liquid sweetener in place of the stevia) (15g)
Combine dry ingredients and stir. In a separate bowl, combine all wet ingredients, then mix wet into dry and stir. Pour crumbly dough into a gallon-sized plastic bag and smush into a ball. Still in the bag, roll dough into a very, very thin square. (For step-by-step photos, see nutrition link below.) Chill at least 20 minutes, or your pop tarts will be crispy. Meanwhile, grease a baking pan, and make up whatever filling/s you desire. (I’ve provided a few ideas below, and feel free to make different flavors within the same batch of dough.)

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350. Cut open the bag and slice the dough into rectangles. If you’ve rolled it thinly enough and use all the dough, you should be able to get 34-38 rectangles. (Cut much bigger rectangles if you want regular-sized pop tarts, as opposed to minis.) Put a little filling—about 3/4 teaspoon—on half the rectangles, then place remaining rectangles on top. Cinch down with a fork or your fingers, and it’s okay if some of the filling comes out. Bake 14-18 minutes, depending on how crispy you want the crust. Once cooled, spread on glaze (recipe at the bottom of this post), and store in a plastic container for soft pop tarts or a glass container for crispy ones.

For the glaze:

Microwave (or heat on the stove) 1 small strawberry for 20 seconds, then mash very well until it’s like soup. Add 1/2 cup (60g) powdered sugar or Sugar-Free Powdered Sugar and stir stir stir. It’ll seem extremely thick at first, but if you just keep stirring, it’ll turn into icing.

And yes, it does work with the sugar-free powdered sugar (recipe linked above, in blue). You probably won’t use all of the icing for the pop tarts, but this was easier than telling you to microwave 1/8th of a strawberry!